Posts tagged “allston”

March 22nd, 2012

Orca Orca - Make Live

A year and a half ago, alone in his bedroom in Allston, Massachusetts, Jimmy Hewitt began Orca Orca, then called Young Minds. In the fall of 2010 he pushed aside the plaid shirts lining his closet and recorded jangly guitars riffs. He drove around Boston, finding moments of solitude to record vocals. He put everything together and uploaded a five-song set of bedroom pop gems entitled Imago Demos.

His demos made the rounds, gracing a handful of blogs. Jimmy wanted more than a mere cameo. Fleeting blog fame was not tangible— he wanted to play shows around Boston. The project was in transition. Before one of his first shows, Jimmy told me how surprised he was to see his demos on the internet. He didn’t know how Tyler from Flashlight Tag even came across his music on Bandcamp. A month after uploading the demos, Jimmy was contacted by French netlabel Beko DSL asking if he wanted to contribute a track to an upcoming compilation that would feature some of my current favorites, like The Bilinda Butchers, Sad Souls and Endiamonds (download it here). Still, it all felt distant. People in far off places listened and loved his tunes. Yet, at his first few shows, the crowd was largely friends and family. The propagation of his music via the internet gave him hope for the project, but, at least in his hometown, he would have to wait for recognition. So, he stood on the stage, draped in reds and purples; he jammed away. Sure, maybe he’d break a string in the middle of a song, but he’d keep playing, keeping up with his trusty drum machine. Over the next few months, or perhaps the next year, Jimmy developed Orca Orca. He focused on his live show. He added a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist— it was coming together.

Now, Jimmy, alongside a couple of his closest high-school buddies, has played all over Boston. Two years ago, he may not have had the self-assurance to sing in front of his roommates, let alone a club full of judging, iPhone-wielding faces. Orca Orca is now a more complete project. After his short set a month ago, someone in the crowd shouted, begging for another song. Jimmy laughed and leaned towards the mic— “We don’t have any more songs.” Well now Orca Orca has a few more songs to its name. He’s spent the last few months crafting a new set of tunes. Today, Jimmy released his latest EP, a limited-edition cassette entitled Make Live. His new songs don’t stray far from his early demos. Recorded in his apartment in Allston, they are about the same youthful simplicities— cruising around with friends and staying up until the sun pierces the hazy horizon. You can snag Make Live over at Orca Orca’s bandcamp for free, or drop a couple of bills on a sweet tape.

Catch Orca Orca play some tunes off his new EP April 6th at O’Brien’s in Allston. Also, he’s opening for the like-minded Abadabad— so be there. Check out a couple of new ones below…

Orca Orca - when the sun comes up (original demo)

Orca Orca - Say So

Orca Orca - Make Live

September 19th, 2011

Orca Orca - Change of Pace 7”

Almost a year ago Allston, Massachusetts-based artist Jim Hewitt released a set of five songs called Imago Demos under the name Young Minds. After months of listening to the mysterious project, I finally got a chance to meet up with Jim and see him play live, back in April, in front of a crowd of made up in part by his friends and roommates on Easter. After he played through his set we talked about how he really wasn’t into his project’s name, but that it kind of just happened so he went along with it and was thinking about switching it up in the future. He also mentioned a new song of his that he played for the first time live that night (he strummed the hell out of his guitar in the process and it ended up the worse for wear). Jim had only just “released” the jam, called ‘Change of Pace’, subtly on his bandcamp page a few weeks before the show. He admitted that he kind of regretted uploading it, but that since he hadn’t come up with anything since his first set of demos he couldn’t wait to share it, even if he later wished he’d waited and mastered the hell out of it.

Now months later, and after several reassuring emails telling me that there was more on the way, he’s back with a new set of songs— and a new name: Orca Orca. His first release under the new name, the Change of Pace 7”, is available for free download over at his bandcamp. It includes a new recording of his song ‘Change of Pace’, that he mastered stuck in traffic while driving home from work this summer, and a new song ‘Get Up (Get Out).’ Make sure stay on the look out for more from Orca Orca in the next few months.

Orca Orca - Get Up (Get Out)

Orca Orca - Change of Pace

Orca Orca - introduction (bonus track)

Oh and Jim also sent over a couple of covers he that recorded for some of his friends earlier this summer. He made sure to assure me that this Katy Perry cover is a joke, for the most part…

Orca Orca - teenage dream (katy perry cover)

Previously

Young Minds - Change of Pace

Young Minds - Underground

August 24th, 2011

Super88 - nervous knocking

Super88 combines luscious beats with a handful of samples to craft beautifully ethereal environments far from anything near its surroundings in Allston, Massachusetts. The project’s latest effort, a four-track EP entitled play it out, moves through several scenes: ‘i hope it’s beautiful’ brings me to a dusk-draped forest while the opener on the release, ‘nervous knocking,’ evokes a Southern Shores-esque on-the-beach-at-night, bonfire-splashing-light-on-my-face sorta vibe. You can snag the EP as well as host of rad tracks from the last ten years over at Super88’s bandcamp.

Super88 - nervous knocking

Super88 - i hope it’s beautiful

Also, check out a sweet Air France-influenced jam from last year.

Super88 - er/r/ing

don’t be discouraged.

What's Spinning?

Korallreven

Youth Lagoon

Sad Souls

Teen Daze

Celista

Atlantic

orca orca

The Bilinda Butchers

My <3



Pretty Much No Rotation

hinterlandmutual benefit

Loading tweets...

@escucharemos

'; } document.getElementById("sideblog-twitter-loading").style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById("sideblog-twitter").style.display = 'block'; }
We will listen.



[email protected]

friends

Club Fonograma

East To West

Flashlight Tag

Gorilla Vs Bear

Matinée As Hell

The Apiary

Tracasseur

Treeswingers

Zen Tapes



labels

Acéphale Records

Captured Tracks

Cascine

Labrador

Lefse Records

Sincerely Yours

Open ears

Networks

mixedsens.es mp3 & music blog aggregator